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Brief Profile

The Tzeltal are an indigenous Mayan people group who have migrated from the central highlands of Chiapas State, Mexico and retain their pre-Columbian language and culture.

Their hometowns are poor rural farming communities, and increasing numbers of Tzeltal, especially adult men, have left to seek better economic opportunities in the USA. Upon arrival, the link up with other immigrants from Chiapas who help them to get established. They are often exploited by their employers who pay them less than they pay their Hispanic peers, and they struggle to learn English (and sometimes Spanish).

The primary religion of the Tzeltal is a mixture of Roman Catholicism with the traditional Mayan religious practices of their homeland. Their primary language is Tzeltal, which does have a translation of the Bible. The Jesus Film is available in three different Tzeltal dialects.

"After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb."(Revelation 7:9, NIV)